The latest Boeing and aerospace news, including updates about the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, 747-8 and 737, Airbus A380 and A350, the anticipated Boeing 797 and Boeing jobs and layoffs

Note: This is a seattlepi.com reader blog. It is not written or edited by the P-I. The authors are solely responsible for content. E-mail us at newmedia@seattlepi.com if you consider a post inappropriate..

Boeing’s third 747-8 Freighter has completed its flight-test program and flown to the company’s San Antonio, Texas, site for refurbishment, the company announced Thursday. The plane, designated RC503, carried out testing in extreme conditions such as freezing cold in Canada and 90-mile-per-hour winds in Iceland, Boeing said. It is painted in the livery of 747-8 […]
[Read More]

Boeing has added orders for 10 wide-body jets over the past week: five 777 freighters for Lufthansa and five 767s for LAN Airlines, the company reported Thursday. Lufthansa said in March that it planned to order the 777s, which are worth $1.35 billion at list prices, although customers get substantial discounts. “The 777 freighter is […]
[Read More]

Australian investigators Wednesday disclosed the sequence of events that led to the explosion of a Qantas Airbus A380 shortly after takeoff on Nov. 4, 2010 from Singapore. The problem started with a manufacturing defect in an oil-feed pipe, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau said in releasing an interim factual report. “That defect resulted in fatigue […]
[Read More]

Following up on an emergency directive after a hole opened up on a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-300 in flight April 1, the Federal Aviation Administration Wednesday proposed a permanent airworthiness directive. The directive requires eddy current inspections of lap joints of Boeing 737-300s, -400s and -500s: Before the 30,000th flight cycle for planes that haven’t […]
[Read More]

Airbus will raise A320 Family production to 42 a month in the fourth quarter of 2012, the plane maker announced Monday. Airbus parent EADS said earlier this month that the company was considering another boost beyond the 40 a month set for early next year. It now builds 36 a month and plans to go […]
[Read More]

UPDATE: See our story on the ruling. The World Trade Organization is set to release a decision Wednesday on appeals by the European Union and United States of last year’s ruling on European subsidies to Airbus. Airbus’ President and CEO Tom Enders has already declared victory in a statement, saying: This is a big win […]
[Read More]

France’s air accident investigation agency and Air France Tuesday tried to tamp down reports that initial data from recorders from a crashed Airbus A330 point to crew error, rather than an aircraft malfunction.
[Read More]

Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire Tuesday announced $3 million in funding for aerospace worker training. “I want to make sure that Washington jobs are filled by Washington workers,” Gregoire said in a news release. “This investment is a double win for Washington state. It helps those individuals negatively impacted by the national recession receive training to […]
[Read More]

Note: This is a seattlepi.com reader blog. It is not written or edited by the P-I. The authors are solely responsible for content. E-mail us at newmedia@seattlepi.com if you consider a post inappropriate..